The Anfield outfit have submitted an offer of €25 million – £21.8m – to trigger the release clause in the player’s contract.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone has previously admitted he would not stand in the way of the 24-year-old should a suitable bid be forthcoming, having bolstered his forward line in the last month with the signing of David Villa.

And Liverpool are now waiting on a response from Atletico but are confident Costa will want to discuss a move to Anfield.

Costa, who made his debut for the Brazil national side earlier this year, scored 20 goals in 44 appearances for Atletico last season and netted the equaliser in their 2-1 Copa Del Rey final win over neighbours Real in May.

The move comes as Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre reaffirmed the club had no intention of selling Luis Suarez having twice turned down bids from Arsenal for the Uruguay international, the latter for the fee of £40,000,001.

News of Liverpool’s move for Costa comes after Rodgers reiterated he is ready to keep his powder dry in the transfer window until the right player becomes available – even if it means starting the season without any more new signings.

The transfer window opened with a flurry of activity from Liverpool with Kolo Toure, Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto and Simon Mignolet all captured in the opening weeks at an estimated cost of £25m.

However, main target Henrikh Mkhitaryan instead joined Borussia Dortmund and there has been an impasse reached in the pursuit of Schalke’s Greek centre-back Kyriakos Papadopoulos.

And Rodgers has no intention of bringing in players just for the sake of it.

“They have to be of the right quality, that’s the bottom line,” he said.

“We’ve got money to spend on getting that quality in but if it’s not available I won’t waste it for the sake of bringing a player in.

“We’re really working hard to bring in the type of profile that can really help us push on.”

Rodgers is content with his four new arrivals, who have helped Liverpool navigate four pre-season friendlies unbeaten without conceding a goal ahead of tomorrow’s Steven Gerrard testimonial match against Olympiakos at Anfield.

“All of the new boys have settled in really well,” said the Northern Irishman. “Simon Mignolet has been first-class. He has shown that he is one of the top young goalkeepers in European football.

“I think he will prove over the next coming years at Liverpool that he is a top goalkeeper.

“Kolo Toure speaks for himself – his experience and his fitness has been first-class since he came in and he’s a really good man,” he added.

“Iago has settled in well and got a few goals in pre-season, which is great for his confidence. He’s a livewire in and around the box.

“Luis Alberto is obviously still young but has shown the qualities, technically, and has got a strong mentality.”

Liverpool youngster Jack Robinson has joined Championship side Blackpool on a season-long loan deal.